KINSHASA, Dec. 12 (Xinhua) -- The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reported 53,860 suspected cases of mpox, including 1,225 deaths, since the beginning of this year, the Ministry of Public Health announced Thursday.
Health authorities noted that around 30 percent of suspected cases were recorded in South Kivu, the country's most affected eastern province.
As the epicenter of the outbreak, the DRC faces significant challenges in surveillance and screening, particularly at the provincial level. These limitations hinder case detection and delay response efforts, undermining the country's ability to contain the epidemic, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned in its latest report released Tuesday.
In a vaccination campaign launched on Oct. 6, more than 51,600 people have been inoculated across six provinces, according to the WHO. However, the DRC Health Minister Roger Kamba said that the country requires about three million vaccine doses to cover 2.5 million people.
The WHO reiterated that the ongoing resurgence of the mpox virus remains a public health emergency of international concern. In August, the organization declared a health emergency as the epidemic spread across Africa, impacting 19 countries on the continent to date.
Mpox, also known as monkeypox, was first detected in laboratory monkeys in 1958. It is a rare viral disease typically spread through body fluids, respiratory droplets, and contaminated materials. The infection usually causes fever, rash, and swollen lymph nodes.
